PANAMA CITY (AP) — An American couple have been deported to Panama, where they face charges of killing two other Americans.
William Cortez and his wife Jane were arrested in Nicaragua Monday by soldiers who captured them at the border with Costa Rica. Authorities say the couple gave fake names.
Cortez and his wife are accused of killing Cheryl Lynn Hughes, a St. Louis native who had lived in Panama for 10 years, and a friend described as the former owner of a New Mexico gallery. Their bodies were uncovered last week, buried in shallow graves behind a hotel run by Cortez in Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Authorities believe the Cortez's preyed on residents in the scenic coastal region, and they're being questioned about the disappearance of five other people — reportedly three Americans and two Panamanian workers.
%@AP Links
<<APPHOTO PAN104 (07/29/10)>>
: Detainee identified by authorities as William Adolfo Cortez of Texas, gestures as he walks down an airplane at the airport in Panama City after being extradited from Nicaragua Thursday, July 29, 2010. Authorities said Cortez and his wife, detained near the Nicaraguan border with Costa Rica, have been identified as the couple wanted in Panama in the death of U.S. woman Lynn Hughes and that they matched photographs Panamanian authorities provided of William Cortez and his wife Jane.
<<APPHOTO PAN106 (07/29/10)>>
: Detainee identified by authorities as Jane Cortez walks escorted by police agents upon her arrival in Panama City after being extradited from Nicaragua Thursday, July 29, 2010. Authorities said Cortez and her husband William Adolfo Cortez, detained near the Nicaraguan border with Costa Rica, have been identified as the couple wanted in Panama in the death of U.S. woman Lynn Hughes and that they matched photographs Panamanian authorities provided of William Cortez and his wife Jane.
